Massoud, l'Afghan (1998)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Christophe de Ponfilly

Writer:

Christophe de Ponfilly (writer)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Plot Keywords:

Che Guevara | Anti Personnel Mine | Terrorist | Soviet | Exile

Cast

Christophe de Ponfilly	...	Himself / Interviewer / Narrator
Ahmad Shah Massoud	...	Himself
Merabuddine	...	Himself / Interpret

Also Known As:

Massoud, the Afghan (USA)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | Pashtu | English | Russian

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Afghanistan

Company:

Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Insight into Afghanistan

This is a documentary about the life of Massoud, who was the leader of the Northern Federation in Afghanistan. The film footage concentrates in the events in 1997, when The Northern Federation and Taliban fought fiercely to gain control of the Afghanistan.

There were several things I found memorable in this film. There was a little boy who touched a "stone", and the "stone" exploded. It was in fact a grenade. His fingers were blown off completely, and his whole arm had to be amputated. It was extremely upsetting. Imagine a little boy, who did not understand the terror of war, will live his life as a handicapped person. It was terrible.

Another film footage showed a group of men walking with a prosthetic limb. All of them had their leg amputated because of injuries from landmines. I felt very sad, because landmines did so much harm to civilians, and the harm was permanent. Sometimes, the effect of the harm will not be seen until many years after the landmines are laid.

There was something said in the film which I found so true. Millions of people died or had their lives changed because of one man's decision. One man in USSR decided to invade Afghanistan, and therefore Afghanistan was in war for 20 years. The most ironic fact is that, the man who made the decision do not have to suffer, while all other people in the distant land suffered forever.

There was another statement that was very memorable. "I feel so disgusted by people shouting because of their victory in a background of ruins". I was very touched by this statement. The whole party may have won a battle, but what have they gained? Only a pile of stones in the ruins! The soldiers did not seem to understand that in the process to fight for the control of a city, buildings were completely destroyed, many people were killed, many people became homeless. Children became orphans. The economy broke down, the culture was destroyed. By gaining a ruined city, they lost everything else.

I hope people will understand that peace in the world is very important. "I wish there is world peace" as a birthday or new year wish should not be seen as a perfunctory wish.